10 colossal old computers that changed history

7/28/2019 10 Colossal Old Computers That Changed History

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10 Colossal Old Computers ThatChanged History April 8, 2013 By Will

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Computers have come a long way since the early days, when two of the machines could

take over a four-story building and weigh up to 250 tons. As early as the 1930s,

inventors, engineers and physicists were figuring out ways to use machines to perform

complex calculations and processes, employing pioneering methods to achieve their

goals. Although some of those techniques and devices are now blissfully obsolete, many

early innovators hit upon technologies that are still in use today. These 10 colossal old

computers are a testament to the alluring potential of computing and the ingenuity of early computer scientists – as well as a visual demonstration of just how far we’ve

come.

10. Universal AutomaticComputer (UNIVAC) – 1951

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eniac.jpg






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The first UNIVAC computer was designed and developed by Dr. John Mauchly and J.

Presper Eckert – who also invented the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer

(ENIAC) – between 1946 and 1951. Up to this point, most computers were uniquesystems and weren’t replicated. But not the UNIVAC. It was the first functional mass-

produced business computer in history and opened the door to a larger commercial

market.

Although only 46 of the first-generation UNIVAC were built, the machine made waves

in 1952 when, on national TV, it correctly predicted the outcome of the presidential

election between vying candidates Eisenhower and Stevenson. Based on a small

fraction of early votes, the UNIVAC figured the odds were in Eisenhower’s favor, and

his landslide victory placed the computer firmly in the public eye. People began to

realize just how significant a contribution computers could make.

9. IBM 305 Random AccessMethod of Accounting andControl (RAMAC) – 1956

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Introduced in 1956, IBM’s 305 RAMAC was the first general-purpose computer that

facilitated the “random access” of data in real time. Inventor Reynold B. Johnson and

his team of engineers had only started working on the technology in 1952. The 305

RAMAC was the earliest commercial computer to feature magnetic disk storage, and it

only took around 600 milliseconds to execute the “seek” command.

The system’s magnetic disk memory unit was made up of 50 disks with 50,000 sectors,

and the disks could spin at 1,200 revolutions per minute. Businesses were now able to

store and access information on demand. Thanks to the 305 RAMAC, data processing

had been revolutionized forever.

8. Atlas Computer – 1962

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On December 7, 1962, the University of Manchester switched on the first model of their

groundbreaking Atlas Computer – and according to historians, simply turning on the

machine increased the scientific computing capacity of the entire United Kingdom by

100 percent. The Atlas could handle around one million commands a second.

When it was unveiled, the Atlas was described as the world’s most powerful computer.

Yet in order to achieve this high power, several new techniques had to be integrated,

including multiprogramming, interleaved storage, and virtual memory. Many of the

techniques and software concepts developed with the Atlas are still used in computers

and other technological devices today. Thus, the Atlas was monumental – not just in

terms of physical scale but also from a historical perspective.

7. Differential Analyzer – 1931

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From 1928 to 1931, American engineer and inventor Professor Vannevar Bush

developed the sprawling Differential Analyzer at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology (MIT). He did so with the help of graduate students, most notably Harold

Locke Hazen. The Differential Analyzer was an analog electromagnetic device that, inthe words of the MIT museum, “mechanized calculus.” It provided solutions to complex

calculations and was used around the clock during WWII.

This giant machine was employed to work out problems from the MIT Radiation

Laboratory. The lab carried out work on WWII microwave radars as well as the radio

navigation system known as Long Range Navigation (LORAN).

6. Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) – 1942

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Comprehensively tested in 1942, The Atanasoff-Berry Computer, also known as the

ABC, was the world’s first electronic digital computer. The machine was envisaged in

1937, and John Atanasoff and student Clifford Berry developed it at Iowa StateUniversity between 1939 and 1942. Although physically smaller than most of the

historical giants on this list, it featured several groundbreaking features, including the

use of dynamic capacitors to store memory (similar to RAM).

The machine could also uphold 30 different operations at the same time and solve linear

algebraic equations with up to 29 variables – a huge step up from the simple desk

calculator. The ABC became an important predecessor to the ENIAC, which was

introduced in 1946.

5. Whirlwind I – 1951

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Built from 1948 to 1951, the Whirlwind I computer system was developed by the MIT

Servomechanisms Laboratory as part of a US Navy training program. The intention was

to create a computer that was much faster than its contemporaries and capable of

running on a constantly shifting series of inputs to create complicated flight simulations.This led to the development of the bit-parallel mode, which is still in use today, and

proved that real-time control was possible. The usage of video displays for output was

another revolutionary first.

Later, the Whirlwind II was used in the US Air Force’s SAGE air defense program. The

technology that came with the creation of the Whirlwind I was also instrumental in

many computers in the 1960s.

4. Colossus Computer – 1943

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The Colossus was the first programmable electronic digital computer on Earth. In 1943,

the original version of the machine was built in London by a team of British engineers

working under Dr. Tommy Flowers. Colossus computers were used specifically by

Allied codebreakers during WWII, which is why the machine was kept under wraps for

years – even after WWII.

However, the people who worked on the Colossus had a huge impact on computing.

Alan Turing, Max Newman and I.J. Good, who all had a hand in the Colossus, went on

to lend their expertise to other significant computer systems and software developments

after the first Colossus had been dismantled.

3. Electronic Numerical

Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) – 1946

http://www.topbritishinnovations.org/PastInnovations/Colossus.aspx





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The ENIAC stands as one of the most influential computers in history. Physicist Dr.

John Mauchly and electrical engineer J. Presper Eckert – the duo behind the UNIVAC –

worked with a team at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical

Engineering to develop it. The computer was unveiled in 1946 and was lauded by the

media as a “giant brain.” Not only could it solve mathematical equations, but it was

programmable to boot.

The machine was developed to work out artillery firing tables, and it could compute a

60-second firing trajectory in half a minute – while Bush’s Differential Analyzer took a

quarter of an hour to perform the same operation. What’s more, weighing in at more

than 30 tons and covering 1,800 square feet of floor space, the ENIAC was definitely

colossal.

2. Z1 – 1938

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Classic_shot_of_the_ENIAC.jpg





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It took Konrad Zuse a few years to design and build the Z1 computer in his parents’

apartment. He began designing the machine in 1935 and completed its construction in

1938. And although it was only the first of multiple models, it led to several important

developments.

Each time Zuse made a new model, he improved upon the old one – and in 1941 hecreated the Z3, a fully functional computer that had a huge amount of memory, relays

that ran on a yes/no principle, and binary floating-point arithmetic. It was

programmable and contained nearly all the basic elements of later computers. Following

on from the Z3, Zuse sold approximately 300 of his Z4 machines.

1. IBM AN/FSQ-7 – 1958

http://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Relays/Zuse.html





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IBM’s AN/FSQ-7 is the biggest computer ever constructed and is expected to remain

so. The huge system used two second-generation Whirlwind computers and weighed an

incredible 250 tons. By 1955, a prototype AN/FSQ-7 had been installed in the US Air

Force’s Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) test sub-sector in Lexington,

Massachusetts. Each AN/FSQ-7 comprised 24 machines and provided for over 100

users.

During the Cold War, the system was employed to track enemy bombers and predict points of interception. Impressively, its algorithm was able to launch a Bomarc missile

and guide it until the missile’s homing mechanism took effect. The AN/FSQ-7 was a

brilliant early design for air traffic-control systems; and significantly, it featured the first

real-time cathode ray tube (CRT) interface. If that weren’t enough, it used the earliest

wide-area modem communication network and also pioneered the use of light gun

pointing devices.

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10 colossal old computers that changed history

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